Mumbai: West Indies spinner Akeal Hosein stated it’s important to not take any team lightly at the World Cup ahead of their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Group C clash against Nepal, at the Wankhede Stadium, here on Saturday.
Hosein felt given the fact there were major scares early on in the tournament when Netherlands ran Pakistan close and Nepal came really close to shocking England, no team must be taken for granted in the competition.
“I think you can see from the start of the tournament in the first round, most of the bigger teams were in a spot of bother. In this World Cup, it's not one to take anyone lightly. Preparation is going to be the same, mindset is going to be the same. It's just about executing at the end of the day, it's a World Cup.
These teams had to do what they had to do to get to the World Cup. For us, it's not about taking anyone for granted. It's just about going out there and playing another cricket match against our opposition,” he added.
When Hosein was asked about Nepal’s evolution from the side that beat the West Indies 2-1 in the bilateral T20I series last year and now, the West Indies spinner felt they are a well-knit unit.
“I think they are a well-gelled unit. If you check the amount of games they've played together, it's quite a lot. Yes, they did defeat us in Sharjah, but most of our seniors weren't there. It's a match we look forward to, but we know what they can do, we know what they're capable of.”
He acknowledged Nepal’s growth and their performance at the T20 World Cup so far.
“We saw it in the last couple of games. We know they are a tight-knit unit. On the day, you have to play your best cricket, no matter if you think it's just Nepal coming up against these guys.”
Hosein was asked a technical question by a reporter regarding the difference in his and Gudakesh Motie’s bowling action and the spinner felt it depended more on their roles in match scenarios.
“We play different roles. I'm in the power play, I spin the ball, I swing the ball. Motie is outside of the power play, he's bowling left arm orthodox and he's also bowling Chinaman as well.
So I feel when it comes to T20 cricket, it's about what role you're playing. Not so much what you bowl, but where you bowl in this format,” he added.
